# Your favorite five short stories? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 17, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993 "2011-03-17T02:36:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Meatros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Meatros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatros)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/21 "2011-03-17T16:22:44Z")
HP Lovecraft’s _Shadow out of Time_ A lot of Lovecraft’s stories could be included here, but for some reason, the one that I’ve read repeatedly the most is this one. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/22 "2011-03-17T17:08:42Z")
“That Only a Mother” by Judith Merril “Speech Sounds” by Octavia Butler “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry “A Story Which Will Never be Finished” by Leonid N. Andreyev “The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/23 "2011-03-17T17:16:56Z")
I don’t think this would be my definitive list but here’s five stories I really enjoy: “The Devil and Daniel Webster” by Stephen Vincent Benet “The Man Who Loved the Vampire Lady” by Brian M. Stableford “The Moon Moth” by Jack Vance “Nightwings” by Robert Silverberg “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” by James Thurber ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/24 "2011-03-17T17:19:05Z")
The Short, Happy Life of Francis Macomber by Hemingway For Esme, With Love And Squalor, by Salinger Silent Snow, Secret Snow by Conrad Aiken The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson Blessed, by Donald Ray Pollock ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/25 "2011-03-17T17:36:06Z")
" De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period " by Salinger “The Tell Tale Heart” by Poe “Danny, Champion of the World” by Roald Dahl “The Fall of Edward Barnard” by Somerset Maugham ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/26 "2011-03-17T18:03:31Z")
Aauggh! I’ve been racking my brain to come up with the perfect list for some time now, in the process discovering that my library card is blocked for overdues and also that a favorite author died… I’ve decided to give this up for the moment and just post my first thoughts, saving my last slot for three days from now when I figure it out. So, then: Fondly Fahrenheit, by Alfred Bester Born of Man and Woman, by Richard Matheson The Fog Horn, by Richard Bradbury The Jaunt, by Stephen King I could have chosen several more by Bradbury and King, but I’d rather spread the love around to different authors. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/27 "2011-03-17T19:54:50Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > … > “The Moon Moth” by Jack Vance > … Yessssss! See post 16. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/28 "2011-03-17T20:04:59Z")
The Man Who Traveled In Elephants - Robert A. Heinlein The Man With the Copper Fingers - Dorothy L. Sayers “Pickman’s Model” - H. P. Lovecraft “Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut” - Stephen King “The Nine Billion Names Of God” - Arthur C. Clarke ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/29 "2011-03-17T20:36:03Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > Fondly Fahrenheit, by Alfred Bester Cool and discreet, baby. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/30 "2011-03-17T20:52:41Z")
In no particular order: _Hills Like White Elephants_ by Ernest Hemingway _A Christmas Memory_ by Truman Capote _Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge_ by Ambrose Bierce _The Necklace_ by Guy de Maupassant _The Library at Babel_ by Jorges Luis Borges ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/31 "2011-03-17T20:55:33Z")
I am going to respond without reading the rest of the thread, and name the stories that first come to mind. 1. “The Grammarian’s Five Daughters,” by Elanor Arnason 2. “And He Built a Crooked House,” by Heinlein 3. “The Timing of Sin,” by Andrew Dubus 4. “The Freeze” by Valerie Martin 5. “Dancing After Hours,” by Dubus again ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/32 "2011-03-17T21:02:18Z")
Some of these may be longer than typical short stories, oh well… _All the King’s Horses_—Kurt Vonnegut [_A Colder War_](http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/stories/colderwar.htm)—Charlie Stross _Inconstant Moon_—Larry Niven [_A Study In Emerald_](http://www.neilgaiman.com/mediafiles/exclusive/shortstories/emerald.pdf)—Neil Gaiman (.Pdf warning) [_The Star_](http://faculty.winthrop.edu/kosterj/engl510/star.htm)—Arthur C. Clarke. Other interesting ones include pretty much everything in _Welcome to the Monkey House_, by Vonnegut and _Galactic North_, by Alastair Reynolds. Charlie Stross’s Laundry stories are often found as short stories/novellas, like The Concrete Jungle, Overtime, Pimpf, and Down on the Farm. I’m also fond of Larry Niven’s short stories and novellas from Known Space, the Draco Tavern and The Magic Goes Away series. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/33 "2011-03-17T21:17:49Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Yessssss! See post 16. I also considered _The Last Castle_ but I think _The Moon Moth_ works better as a story. _The Last Castle_ just sort of faded away while _The Moon Moth_ went somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2011, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/34 "2011-03-17T22:00:36Z")
I don’t think these have been mentioned before, they’re in a special category, short stories that were so successful that they were made into novels. [Flowers for Algernon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_for_Algernon), Daniel Keyes [Nightfall](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightfall_(Asimov_short_story)), Isaac Asimov [A Canticle for Liebowitz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Canticle_for_Leibowitz), Walter Miller [Lost Boys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Boys_(novel)#Short_story), Orson Scott Card [Ender’s Game](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ender%27s_Game), Orson Scott Card [The Stand](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Surf), Stephen King (OK, maybe not) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tooth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@The\_Tooth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tooth)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/35 "2011-03-18T00:27:08Z")
I’ve always said that the short story is where science fiction really shines. I’ve never said it to anyone, but I’ve always said it. Anyway, these are the ones that spring to mind, in no particular order. 1. “The Barbie Murders” - John Varley. 2. “Ser Visal’s Tale” - Stephen R. Donaldson. 3)“We See Things Differently” - Bruce Sterling. 4)“The Days of Solomon Gursky” - Ian McDonald. 5)“The Author of the Acacia Seeds” - Ursula K. LeGuin. If I’d posted yesterday my list would be different. It would include “Burning Chrome” and “Radiant Doors”, a story I hate because it disturbed me so much, which would make it a favourite of a sort, I guess. Kinda. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/36 "2011-03-18T01:45:35Z")
> [@RM\_Mentock](#): > > I don’t think these have been mentioned before, they’re in a special category, short stories that were so successful that they were made into novels. > > [URL=“[Flowers for Algernon - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flowers_for_Algernon)”]Flowers for Algernon I loved this story, although it was so sad. The following link is to a picture of a cake I made, for an “edible book” contest that referenced this story. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/2381/2397008352_cce93848b3_z.jpg "Flowers for Algernon") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/topekalibrary/2397008352/) ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/37 "2011-03-18T01:50:34Z")
Okay, I’ve got one more: Night They Missed the Horror Show, by Joe R. Lansdale. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/38 "2011-03-18T02:04:25Z")
1. _1408_ by Stephen King. 2. _The Red Room_ by H.G. Wells. 3. _Sherlock Holmes and The Five Orange Pips_ by Arthur Conan Doyle. 4. _The Lottery_ by Shirley Jackson 5. _The Night Wire_ by H.F. Arnold. Why yes, I do like horror. Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/39 "2011-03-18T02:40:59Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I loved this story, although it was so sad. The following link is to a picture of a cake I made, for an “edible book” contest that referenced this story. > > [Flowers for Algernon | Edible book created by Denise Eulert.… | Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/topekalibrary/2397008352/) Cute. I’m surprised I can say so after that story traumatized me for LIFE. (Great story, but ouch.) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993/40 "2011-03-18T02:44:00Z")
More: “A Martian Odyssey” – Stanley G. Weinbaum “The Cold Equations” – Tom Godwin “Kindly Dig Your Grave” – Stanley Ellin “The Problem of Cell 13” – Jacques Futrelle “It” – Theodore Sturgeon “Nightmare in Yellow” – Fredric Brpwm " . . . And It Comes Out Here" – Lester Del Rey “They’re Made Out of Meat” – Terry Bisson “Passengers” – Robert Silverberg [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/your-favorite-five-short-stories/574993.md?page=3)